According to Bitdefender research, 67% of consumers worldwide are concerned about the security and privacy of AI.
AI uses personal data to feed machine learning algorithms, and its increasing volume has raised serious concerns about data storage, use, and access. Traditional data protection laws cannot answer this concern. Respondents in Spain were the most concerned at 80%, while in Italy only 49% said the same.
“The rapid increase in the adoption of AI by cybercriminals is a game-changer, posing an unprecedented threat to consumer digital safety. “With the proliferation of well-crafted phishing emails, consumers must remain vigilant to understand, prioritize, and apply cybersecurity best practices,” said Bitdefender Consumer Solutions Group. said Ciprian Istrate, SVP of Operations.
Lack of mobile security awareness
The top concern for consumers was cybercriminals accessing their finances at 48%, followed by privacy protection at 17%, and 78% of all respondents said they would be concerned about banking, access to investment accounts, and cryptocurrencies. They said they use their mobile devices to conduct sensitive transactions, such as managing their wallets. Or for healthcare.
However, 45% of respondents do not use a mobile security solution at all. The biggest reason (38%) is because users trust iOS and Android to be secure, and a surprising 23% said they didn't know they could buy security solutions for their mobile devices. Masu.
Of all those surveyed, 24% reported experiencing one or more security incidents in the past 12 months. Australia had the highest percentage of people who said they had experienced a security incident at 37.6%, followed by Spain (27.7%), the United States (26.7%) and Germany (26.3%). Italy had the lowest percentage at 16.14%, followed by the UK (17.2%) and France (19.6%).
37.5% of respondents ages 16-24 reported experiencing a security incident, compared to 11.9% of respondents ages 55 and older. This correlates with our ability to recognize (or not recognize) deception as we get older.
The average consumer manages 6-10 online accounts
Surprisingly, the security incident most experienced by 45.4% of all respondents was SMS (text message) fraud, followed by 44% of fraudulent attempts, phishing emails (42%), data breaches (27.5%), and malware infections ( 16.4%) and personal information records (9.2%).
Malware infection rates were highest among those aged 35 to 44, suggesting that millennials are more likely to download unofficial software, pirated content, and click on suspicious links.
35.7% of all respondents said they manage between 6 and 10 (or more) online accounts to support their digital lifestyle, including shopping, banking, social media, and entertainment. Among respondents with 10 or more accounts, the US ranks first with her at 7%, while France ranks first among respondents with the fewest accounts (1-2), with her at 42%.
Cybersecurity is being practiced inappropriately among consumers
Obtaining password credentials has always been a central objective for cybercriminals, but it is alarming that consumers continue to maintain control over their passwords. 37% of respondents write down their passwords, and 34% use the same password for two or more of their accounts. 17.3% use their web browser's autofill feature and 14.4% use Apple's strong password autofill feature. The good news is that 23% of those surveyed said they use a password manager.
76% of all respondents said they did not believe or were unsure that they were a target. While this statement is correct, the context from a consumer's perspective is misleading and can lead to poor cybersecurity practices. Rather than targeting individuals (a common misconception), cybercriminals typically seek out vulnerable systems and exploit poor cybersecurity behavior to their advantage.
